This fiber came from Japan, spring of 2014, and it has a softer twist than either the perle or crochet thread I typically use. I probably started warping this around the 10nov (or possibly earlier.) Unfortunately, though I documented the beginning of the braid precisely (my usual failure point) I neglected to note when I completed it. Best guess is sometime after Jan 1 but before Mar 1 (of 2016).
Finished braid: 51 inches, with about 2.75inches add'l tassel; stretched, it's a few inches longer. Braid is fairly thick, 6–7mm. Completed some time in Feb 2016.
There weren't enough slots to do 12 pairs easily, so instead I divided the ends into 8 groups of three (another reason this braid is looser—the stitches are longer). In addition to switching back to a heavier counterweight—the pink & gold vase bead, as opposed to the blue 1.5" lentil—the groups of threads were on occasion adjacent, without an empty slot in between, so I had to pay attention a little more closely thread pickup. But the reason I tried the new number of threads was because I was getting bored with the 16 strand kongoh on disk, which, after all, I've been doing for years.
photographed 17nov2015; finished warping marudai & braided brief section to test whether it would work. Looks promising.
Overall I like the unusual color, but not the unevenness and softness of the stitches—not a failure by any means, but perhaps next time I'll try 18 or 20 ends, in pairs—kongoh, unlike many Japanese structures, doesn't suffer from not being divisible by fours.
Strands are double length measured.[1]
20151118RX, 20160306E620
[1]By which I presume this cryptic note means I doubled the strands, i.e. started with 12, my usual approach. If correct, then there's roughly a 33% takeup—kind of low for kongoh on a marudai, but disk braids are much softer.
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